在西安的游客: Touring Xi'an

Xi’an, 33ºC, sunny

Helen had told us the previous night that a special Western breakfast would be served for us from 8am. A Western breakfast, indeed: we had a choice of sausage, eggs, boiled tomatoes and other staples of a cooked breakfast, croissants, brioche and other continental bites, and noodles and Chinese dumplings (this is China, after all). Many of the other students on the programme were relieved at the chance to eat “Western” food, but the food seemed to taste different. A fried egg is a fried egg, but eating Western food in China didn’t quite feel right. As our teachers had told us, 我们渐渐习惯中国生活 we had gradually got used to Chinese life, including Chinese food.

As I ate breakfast, I scanned the room in search of Helen, but she was nowhere to be seen. I was relieved when our guide came in a little after 8.30am, announcing that we would be leaving at 9am. Our first stop of the day was at the Wild Goose Pagoda in the centre of Xian. The name is somewhat misleading, but the building is essentially a tallish tower (see below). I climbed to the top to take in the view of a surprisingly expansive city. Wide roads spanned north, south, east and west from near the tower, indicating that we were right at the heart of the city.

Our next stop was the Great Mosque. Of historical and religious importance, the Great Mosque is one of the most revered places of worship in China for Muslims. Everyone had to cover their shoulders during this visit, so the girls were given large scarves to cover themselves. At the heart of the Mosque, one could make out inscriptions of ancient scripts. The craftsmanship that went into this Mosque is truly phenomenal.

By evening, we had returned to the train station, and set off on our 11 hour return journey to Beijing. Our time in Xian had been so brief, but thanks to Helen’s guidance, we had been exposed to many of China’s former capital’s relics.